D&D 5E Oh Hai Katana!

Steely_Dan · Oct 9, 2012

mlund said:
Elven Courtblade, anyone?

Bingo, (though that does d10), that's exactly what I thought, and a good way to re-fluff the name for a non-Asian/Oriental setting.

I totally dig it, but what I dig most of all, out of all the weapons in the play-test is, that the quarterstaff is a finesse weapon (and useable by the we folk).

Salamandyr · Oct 9, 2012

Steely_Dan said:
Bingo, (though that does d10), that's exactly what I thought, and a good way to re-fluff the name for a non-Asian/Oriental setting.

I totally dig it, but what I dig most of all, out of all the weapons in the play-test is, that the quarterstaff is a finesse weapon (and useable by the we folk).

Or just call it what the Germans did, a Gross Messer.

Steely_Dan · Oct 9, 2012

Salamandyr said:
Or just call it what the Germans did, a Gross Messer.

Cool, but that can conjure an image of someone who makes a gross mess.

The Gross Messer is here!

Salamandyr · Oct 9, 2012

Steely_Dan said:
Cool, but that can conjure an image of someone who makes a gross mess.

The Gross Messer is here!

That seems to be appropriate; you ever watch the Lone Wolf and Cub movies?

Now there was a guy that left a gross mess!

Really...blood and entrails everywhere!

Salamandyr · Oct 9, 2012

So...quick aside, for those who were around for 3.5 FR, what was the point of the Elven courtblade/thinblade/etc.

I remember the introduction of the the Elven thinblade in 2e, which seemed like something dreamed up by Ed Greenwood to justify rapiers existing in an AD&D version of FR where the technology level was intended to be about 13th Century and what we think of as rapiers hadn't evolved yet.

But then 3e had rapiers, except of course the artist illustrated them as being scimitars, and illustrated scimitars as being falchions, and falchions became something else entirely...*sigh*. And then they introduced the elven thin/court/whatever blade to 3e, and the pictures of those were of rapiers...

So let me see the score; we've got rapiers, which aren't rapiers, and thinblades, which look like rapiers, only which are exotic and do more damage. And courtblades, which IIRC look like smallswords, only once again, they're exotic and do more damage.

Why couldn't rapiers be rapiers?

What was the point of the thin/court blade?

Steely_Dan · Oct 9, 2012

Salamandyr said:
That seems to be appropriate; you ever watch the Lone Wolf and Cub movies?

Now there was a guy that left a gross mess!

Really...blood and entrails everywhere!

Total, Ogami Ito is a serious badass - Horse Slaying style!

Steely_Dan · Oct 9, 2012

Salamandyr said:
What was the point of the thin/court blade?

Thin-blades do 1d8 damage and court-blades 1d10 (rapiers only do 1d6).

Salamandyr · Oct 9, 2012

Steely_Dan said:
Thin-blades do 1d8 damage and court-blades 1d10 (rapiers only do 1d6).

Yes, but what purpose did they serve to the world, when they were for all intents and purposes rapiers?

Steely_Dan · Oct 9, 2012

Salamandyr said:
Yes, but what purpose did they serve to the world

For min-maxers to up their damage (like fullblade vs. greatsword).

Salamandyr · Oct 9, 2012

Fullblade vs. Greatsword I got, because a greatsword roughly tracks to the big swords that were a standard sidearm of the high middle ages after the decline of the shield, 35-40' in blade, 9-12 inch hilt, wide quilions...and the fullblade is analogous to a the 6 foot long zweihanders that specially trained landsknechts used to such great effect.

So really, totally makes sense to me, a martial "big" sword, and an exotic "even bigger sword" that requires special training to use.

But the elven thing is exactly the same as a rapier!

OK, I realize, it's just a min-max thing. It's just annoying. What makes it doubly annoying is that the design space for the Elven blah-blah blade was opened up by the incompetent illustration of the rapier in the Player's Handbook, which gave them opportunity to draw an actual rapier in a supplement and call it a made up name.

In other words, sword nerd is angry about sword things!

ok, rant done, back to our regularly scheduled program. Katanas! Aren't they neat! (not really).